Big Finish Productions Kiss of Death

Written by	Stephen Cole
Format	Compact Disc
Released	2011

Starring Peter Davison, Sarah Sutton, Janet Fielding and Mark Strickson

Synopsis: The TARDIS travellers take a break on the beach world of Vektris. Hot sun, cold drinks and all the time in the worlds. What could possibly go wrong? A kidnapping, a spaceship heist and a desperate chase to a distant galaxy later, Turlough finds himself in a strange winter palace... along with a face from his past. The Doctor, Tegan and Nyssa, meanwhile, fight to escape its frozen catacombs, guarded over by a vast and deadly alien Morass. But what connects Turlough to the ancient treasure hidden somewhere in the palace? And how far will he go to acquire it?

• Coldfinger by Thomas Tiley

Coldfinger by Thomas Tiley 30/6/26

Reluctant to leave the TARDIS and enjoy the pleasure planet they are visiting, Turlough runs into an old flame and a group of mercenary hellbent on capturing him, so his fellow companions the fifth Doctor, Tegan and an older Nyssa follow after him. First things first, the cover isn't that interesting, not that you should judge a book by its cover of course. It's just icy crystals, a building, a crashing spaceship and the cast's heads, boring to look at and not very enticing, which probably explains why the shop I got this CD discounted it twice after nobody bought it.

The story is all right. After the kidnapping, the Doctor and co chase after them in a borrowed spaceship (the TARDIS is in for repairs in this story) and end up getting shot down on an isolated planetoid with a hidden vault that the mercenaries want. As the story unfolds, we discover the vault is protected by the Morass, which come after the cast, so its standard Doctor Who stuff, told well enough. It is however bogged down with all the technical talk and technobabble more suited to Star Trek during the scenes where they try to break into the vault. There was a rather obvious reveal meant as a twist, but as I said it was so obvious it wasn't much of a twist at all (spoiler, but Deela was working with the thieves and was in love with their leader) although the final twist about the vault's content were a surprise even if it does leave the ending as a bit of a shaggy dog tale (spoiler, the valuables within the vault had been ruined by the security system and were thus worthless). The story reminds me slightly of another release, called Equilibrium, that was also set on an icy world, with a love interest for Turlough and a malfunctioning control/security AI producing monsters to attack the cast. It even has the same TARDIS crew (although Equilibrium was made later). Tegan and Nyssa promise not to tell the Doctor about Turlough's past, so there is an in-story reason for the Doctor finding out in Planet of Fire about Trion and all that, pretty convenient though.

The performances were all right. Nothing terrible, the regulars are their usual good selves, Janet Fielding getting some good moments such as when she bluffs and stands up to the mercenaries. I also liked the part where Turlough warned them not to argue with her because she would win. I did like Lizzie Roper as the mercenary Hoss, she had a nice harsh quality to her. Lucy Adams as Deela, Turlough's childhood sweetheart, just comes across as a bit wet, and John Banks as the Morass has a great voice for the monster role, all slimy and hoarse, you wouldn't want to hear that voice in the dark. I will say that everything, characterwise, was stereotypical and predicable; I knew the various twists, betrayals and turns the plot would take, how the characters would react and their fates. Nothing wrong with that of course, but it does mean the plot is, if not boring, not exactly setting the world alight. You can hardly care about Deela for instance, because you know she and Turlough aren't getting back together, or about the various mercenaries because they are in a 80s Who story, so they are just mincemeat and cannon fodder for the Morass.

This is Mark Strickson's story, and he does well as Turlough, with his feelings for Deela, his status as exile and his reminiscences about the past. We get a new chunk of his backstory (the palace on the planetoid was his families old estate where he and Deela used go and the vault was their private place), which is all good stuff. They even give an explanation for why he keeps wearing that school outfit, so it's a strong story for him and fans of his character.

Overall it is not a bad story, nor is it a great one, so a pretty average score, maybe bumping it up a point or two if you are a Turlough fan. 5/10